What Is Your Christmas Wish? Part 2
As Christmas approaches, most of us have been asked by a friend or family member, “What do you want for Christmas?”
There is nothing wrong with giving and receiving gifts, it’s a lot of fun… but is that the priority? Is the important thing gifts or your Christmas Wish? Your true Christmas Wish reveals your values.
We think Christmas is about getting our wishes to come true, but really it’s about doing something about the wishes of others.
Christmas is a time for special wishes. What is your the real - deep down in your heart - Christmas Wish? Ask yourself, “Is this what I really want?” Often the common Christmas wishes do not bring true joy or fulfillment.
Common Types of Christmas Wishes
A common Christmas Wish is a
1. Materialistic Wish
We see the Lexus with a red bow on top as an idea for a joyful Christmas. But it doesn’t have to be large or expensive to be materialistic.
Jesus taught us,
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6:19-20 NLT
King Solomon speaks of the value of wisdom over “things”…
You're blessed when you meet Lady Wisdom, when you make friends with Madame Insight. 14 She's worth far more than money in the bank; her friendship is better than a big salary. 15 Her value exceeds all the trappings of wealth; nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her. Proverbs 3:13-15 MSG
Other Christmas Wishes are
2. Sentimental
Nostalgia can be fun, but there is a powerfully negative side of being sentimental. We can find ourselves wishing we had the same Christmas we had in our past. It will never happen! We are setting ourselves up for discouragement because we are secretly hoping we have the same Christmas experience when we were a child.
The people of Israel got angry and they started wishing they were back in Egypt - in slavery. Because they were going through a difficult time in that moment - they got sentimental. When we get sentimental, we get unreasonable. They were wishing for unrealistic, sentimental memories that were not even positive.
There was no water there for the community, so they ganged up on Moses and Aaron. 3 They attacked Moses: "We wish we'd died when the rest of our brothers died before God. Numbers 20:2-4 MSG
Don't let sentimentality distort the great Christmas you could have this year.
Some Christmas Wishes are born from
3. Jealousy
We see what others have and compare ourselves and then we desire what we do not have. Jealousy is when we want what someone else has.
Don't bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked. Psalms 37:1 MSG
Wishing we had what others have steals gratitude from our heart.
Some Christmas Wishes are just for
4. Survival
For too many people, just to make it through another Christmas season without being depressed, is their Christmas wish. Have you ever been depressed? Darkness closes in on you with a feeling that you have no control. When well meaning people say, “Cheer up” they just don't realize how powerful depression can be.
Many people are secretly hoping that January would hurry up and get here.
Consider joining Celebrate Recovery. Isn’t it about time you deal with the pain in your heart?
If we put our focus on meeting someone else’s need it can dramatically reduce the sadness that people feel.
Some Christmas Wishes are
5. Unrealistic
“I wish for World Peace… I wish my family wouldn’t act weird this year… I wish I could spend more than I earn and be prosperous."
Not gonna happen.
What can we wish for that has both magic and reason? Make your wish be about enhancing the life of others.
38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 NLT
Give gifts but choose a higher Christmas Wish - that’s a gift worth giving!
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